Niue Rocks
Being a volcanic rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean,
Niue has an abundance of, caves, chasms, and empty spaces. There’s lots of
potential to hear echoes, you just have to stop and listen. I’ve heard Niue described
as a green dinner plate upside down in the ocean. I’d say more like an
upside-down flan dish on a doily. The island meets the sea abruptly with walls of
crinkly cliffs. Straight below a ring of pink coral fringes the island like it’s
sitting on a decorative lace doily.
The structure of the island, where cliff meets sea, means
there is a network of deep crystal clear rock pools. If you pick your tides and
keep a watch on the swells you can spend hours snorkelling around in them. Imagine
the aquarium at your dentists only a hundred times bigger and you’re on the
inside. If you use your imagination you can even see the odd rock castle, like
the ones they put in fish tanks.
At about a hundred meters offshore
the island drops off sharply. This is the playground for pods of Spinner
dolphins who of course rely on echoes to find those yummy fish. Land lovers can
find yummy fish at the Kai ika sushi restaurant. In fact fish and chicken are
predominantly on the menu of all the island restaurants.
Whilst driving around the
island we saw two things that struck us as unusual. Firstly the abandoned
houses. These are dwellings that the owners have walked away from. They have
moved overseas but their presence is still there, even if it is only in the
form of bricks and mortar. Ghost houses, they still seem to have souls but no
bodies.
The other strange thing for
us, but makes perfect sense to a community that owns land forever and respects
its ancestors, were the graves. Dotted along the roadside, sometimes on the
edge of the village or right outside a family home. They were well cared for
and even decorated.
Echoes of the past, as in
traditions, are still as concrete as the hurricane proof houses. Sundays are a
day for church, family and relaxation. Not many businesses are open on Sunday,
a nice reminder of the way life used to be in New Zealand. A day to kick into
neutral.
The upbringing with the
church front and centre seemed to have a visible spin off. The singing! I think
it must be in the DNA, then honed on Sunday mornings. It was just melodious.
Even their Karaoke night sounded fantastic.
Niue is on the other side of
the dateline so it is literally behind the (New Zealand) times, but not in a
bad way. One good reason for choosing Niue as my birthday destination (a
tradition of mine, to be on an island for my birthday) was the timing. I could
avoid my birthday by 23 hours. As it happened the up side was I managed two birthdays.
People were extra nice to me for two days, my New Zealand birthday and my Niuean
birthday. Passing back over the dateline we lost a day so I don’t have to count
the extra birthday.
“In 1974 the people of Niue adopted a
Constitution providing for self-government in free association with New
Zealand. This is different from full independence. Under the Niue
Constitution, New Zealand provides necessary economic and administrative
assistance, and is responsible for Niue's defence and surveillance of its
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Because Niueans are New Zealand citizens, they
can work and study here without requiring special visas. About 24,000 Niueans
live in New Zealand, compared to 1,460 living in Niue (2011 Census)”.
Because of the close link
between New Zealand and Niue and the constant coming and going of its citizens
there seems like an echo of a New Zealand in a gentler less rushed time albeit
with a distinct island resonance.
Under: Under someone's spell. Fascinated or influenced by someone.
As far as we could work out
there were only really two fixed weekly schedules on the island. The two Air
New Zealand flights (Friday and Tuesday) and the happy hours (shared by the
various bars). Everything else was negotiable dependent on weather, tides,
weddings or the arrival of a cargo ship. Government departments only work
Monday to Thursday and shops only open on the days when there are likely to be
customers. Vital services like the service station and the grocery store are
open sometime during most days, Sundays 4 -8pm. Restaurants like the bars share
the tourists around by opening on alternative days to each other. R’Lina’s café
advertises that they are only open on “plane days”, (we found they were open
other days too). Wash away café (because it once was), Gills Indian, Vaiolama,
Oki oki mai and Matavai are the only ones that trade on a Sunday. My favourite
café had to be the Crazy Uga (Coconut crab) for both views and friendly
service. Thankfully there were no sightings of said crazy crab. Maybe being
born under the sign of cancer, I was the crazy crab?
Sue and Keith Vial run the
Commodore’s orientation tour on the first morning after you arrive and I can
fully recommend you do this for several reasons. Firstly, it gives you the lay
of the land. Secondly, they can give you quite a bit of a background to the
island. Thirdly, they give you a pack at the end of the tour which gives you
tide times, suggested places to visit and the islands activities for that week
(including where and when the happy hours are).
Like most tour operators on
the island they truly just want you to have a good time and stay safe. Sue went
up to the island to teach and they both stayed, that’s the sort of place it is,
captivating.
Niue has an abundance of self-driven
explorations. In order to do them though you need to borrow a few things. Most
importantly, a mode of transport, be it a pushbike, a scooter, a motorbike, a car
or a boat. You’ll also need gear, snorkels, masks, fins, reef shoes, trekking
sticks, diving equipment or a fishing rod.
While we were there we
borrowed (under hire) a car of sorts, snorkel gear and dive gear.
Driving on the island is
like an inverted game of space invaders where you try not to hit the potholes.
The constant weaving from side to side keeps you focused. Luckily the speed
limits are 40km/hr (villages) and 60km/hr (open). Keeping to the speed limits
is a good idea because other than the potholes there are also dogs, chickens
and falling coconuts to avoid. Our rental car we coaxed along sacrificing
overdrive and air-conditioning for horsepower on the hills. Even though the
island ring road is only 64km we managed 400kms by the end of our trip.
Under the guidance of the
locals it was easy to lay back, listen to the waves crashing on the reef, sip a
cocktail or two and unwind to island pace. Relax, no hurry here. Appointments
were flexible plus or minus an hour. We saw very few clocks but a lot of cocks,
as in roosters. Obviously they are Niuean born, they have no sense of timing
and crow day and night.
As a tourist you are really
only borrowing the experience but once you are under the influence of Niue
being either under water or underground you will be under her enchanting spell.
Remember the only thing not be under is a coconut tree with your rental car.
Indigo: Indigo is that subtle colour
between purple and blue. It is credited with creativity and serenity.
The sea around the island has been both protector, provider
and barrier for the Niuean people. Apparently back in Captain Cook’s days the locals
didn’t take too kindly to tourists, chasing them off. The locals are much more
friendly now.
With the arrival twice a week of the big black and white
bird the island goes into overdrive (well overdrive is relative, like my rental’s
overdrive, just a slight change in speed). The tourists came in waves as such
and the bi weekly batches were easily divided into three stages. Driving slowly,
just got their rental. Driving slightly faster and waving occasionally, been
here a few days. Driving to the point where they reach the speed limit between
villages, waving to everyone and avoiding most potholes, they were about to
leave.
Listening to the waves in the morning, watching the
dolphins cruise past from our balcony and being in the ocean will be my take
home memories of Niue. The blend of red coral, to turquoise rock pools, to the
indigo of the deep sea is something very calming to me. Being in the water
itself is what Niue is renowned for. Because there are no streams running into
the sea there are no particles to dirty up the water. The crystal clear
visibility makes it ideal for snorkelling and diving. The snorkelling was as I
said before like being in a huge wave tank. The fish were canary yellow, electric
blue, orange, white, black, brown, striped and spotted. I even saw a fish that
had stolen all the colours of the rainbow. I did see a few of those slinky black
and white sea snakes, so fluid and graceful. We were too early to see the
whales which pass close to the shore. Sounds like an excuse for another trip.
Then there was the diving!
I did something called a try dive where you get instruction
in a swimming pool then get to do an ocean dive with an instructor. The
instructor controls your buoyancy so all you have to remember to do is breathe
and equalize your ears. All I can say is it’s a whole new world down there that
has taken me 50 years to discover. Any time I thought about what I was doing
and where I was, I kept seeing something else fascinating that took my mind off
being underwater with an artificial source of air. It was just magic and I have
to give a big thanks to Rami for introducing me to the world down under.
Appropriately Rami and Julz business is called Magical Niue and no they didn’t
pay me to rave about them they are just great people who want you to enjoy what
the island has to offer.
New: of recent origin or arrival, made,
invented, discovered, acquired, or experienced recently or now for the first
time.
There is lots of new stuff happening on Niue with new
tourist ventures finding their feet and lots of new fresh ideas. The Matavai
Resort where we stayed is expanding and building a conference and wedding venue
as well as a new accommodation block.
I think of this tourism lark as a fine balance. Like the
buoyancy control device in diving. Too little air and you sink to the floor of
the sea, not sustainable. Too much air and you bob around on the top never
seeing the real underwater world. Having to avoid all the boats and other
people on the surface just spoils it. The beauty of an island, to me, is the
lack of dilution from outside influences, including tourists. That’s the point
of difference Niue still has.
If you want to find out about Niue the tourism website is
excellent www.niueisland.com and
they give you an island guide when you arrive that has all the information you
need. There is a daily newsletter put out by the Matavai resort to keep you up
to date with the cultural shows and the current island activities.
New Zealand currency is used and the flight up is only 3
and ½ hours from Auckland.
Power is the same as New Zealand and a blessing in disguise
is that internet and cell-phones are virtually non-existent. Try it, go to Niue
and go off line! Remember talking to each other at the dinner table. I don’t
know, call me traditional.
Trust me you’ll feel like a new man or woman after soaking
in the waters and swimming with the fishes of Niue.
Looking backwards or forward, from above or below
EUIN or NIUE
to me it fits with the old bridal traditional of:
Something Old Echoes The old world traditions
Something New New The new ventures
Something Borrowed Under The tourists
Something Blue Indigo The sea
